Headquarters Actions
A villain’s lair is more than a home or a bit of flavor. It’s a stronghold with custom defenses, a labyrinth only they know, and home that grants them a boost of confidence. A villain confronted in their lair is more dangerous and resourceful, bringing new surprises to the fight the heroes may not be prepared for. To reflect this in your Mutants & Masterminds game, consider adding optional Headquarters Actions to villains when heroes confront them on their home turf.
A Headquarters Action is a special action the facility takes on the villain’s behalf once per round. It can only benefit or react to a villain while they are within facility. A villain’s headquarters rolls its own separate initiative check with a +0 bonus.
Stopping Headquarters Actions
Heroes can attempt to disrupt a Headquarters Action with a power check, just as if it were a power effect. They can instead disable a Feature by attacking it with a Smash action, destroying it as an object with a Toughness qual to the owning villain’s PL (see Damaging Objects in the Deluxe Hero’s Handbook, page 156). With one Degree of Failure on its Toughness checks, the feature can still activate but suffers a –2 penalty to its effective PL. With two Degrees of Failure on its Toughness checks, the feature can still activate but suffers a –5 penalty to its effective PL. With three or more Degrees of Failure, the feature is destroyed and unavailable until repaired.
For the most part, Headquarters Actions represent a lair’s automated systems and the advantage they provide a villain, and so aren’t delayed or prevented by conditions affecting the villain themselves.
If a villain is Incapacitated, their headquarters stops acting each round as well.
Multiple Headquarters Actions
Particularly cunning villains or those who rely on preparing a battlefield ahead of time (such as Conundrum or Doctor Deathtrap) to overcome their foes may have additional Headquarters Actions each round. Two to three Headquarters Actions each round represents a major advantage and well-prepared gauntlet designed to overwhelm enemies, while four or five Headquarters Actions each turn make the lair the true danger in a battle and challenge the heroes likely need to overcome first before the villain can be dealt with. A villain can only activate one Headquarters Action at a time, and must allow at least one hero to take their turn before taking another action. If a villain has more Headquarters Actions than there are heroes, some actions may go unused each round.
A headquarters cannot activate the same feature twice in one round.
Headquarters Actions grant a villain an extra turn every round, making a villain more dangerous. Determining the challenge a villain presents, count the headquarters as a second adversary of the original villain’s PL and reduce any additional support they have from minions or other villains accordingly. For example: a single PL 10 villain with four Headquarters Actions will be a potent challenge for a team of four PL 10 heroes and may even stand a good chance of defeating them.
If multiple villains have invested resources into a single headquarters, the lair still only gains one Headquarters Action each round, but all villains present gain the benefit of various defensive or curative effects, such as the Infirmary’s Heal check; roll once for power checks and apply the results to every villain. If one villain is defeated, one feature become unavailable—either select the most appropriate feature related to their skills and abilities or determine one feature at random.
Player Heroes and Headquarters Actions
With the Gamemaster’s permission, heroes who invest Equipment Points into purchasing a headquarters can also access Headquarters Actions when a battle takes place in their heroic hideout, but must spend a Hero Point each turn to do so. A hero can only spend one Hero Point each turn to activate any headquarters feature. If multiple heroes have contributed points toward the same headquarters, they may spend Hero Points in the same round to activate headquarter features, or even activate the same feature multiple times.
Individual Actions
On its turn, the villain can activate one Feature they have purchased to gain the listed effects:
Combat Simulator: The headquarters produces barricades or holograms that provide one villain with total cover or total concealment OR all villains and minions present with partial cover or partial concealment.
Communications: Advanced audio systems let the Headquarters make a Demoralize maneuver against a single hero, with an Intimidate bonus equal to the villain’s PL.
Computer: The headquarters coordinates a tactical defense, performing an Aid maneuver with a bonus equal to the villain’s PL.
Concealed: The villain disappears into the headquarters’ cloaking systems, innocuous draperies, or other concealment elements, allowing them to make a Stealth check as a free action.
Defense System: The headquarters makes a single attack with an attack bonus and effect rank equal to the villain’s PL. This is generally a Damage effect, but the villain may decide on an Affliction instead when purchasing the feature, or purchase the feature multiple times to acquire multiple attack options.
Deathtraps: The headquarters activates a burst area or cloud area attack with an effect rank equal to the villain’s PL. This is generally an Affliction effect, but the villain may decide on Damage instead when purchasing the feature, or purchase the feature multiple times to acquire multiple attack options.
Dimensional Portal: Opening the portal floods the headquarters with exotic particles or mystic energy, allowing the headquarters to counter an ongoing effect with a bonus equal to the villain’s PL.
Dock: The villain moves underwater as a free action, or from underwater to dry land, potentially allowing them to take advantage of traits like the Favorite Environment advantage.
Dual Size: The villain takes advantage of the headquarters’ unusual spatial nature to make a move action.
Effect: The headquarters activates the appropriate effect.
Fire Prevention System: The headquarters attempts to contain any dangerous or unusual temperatures, countering any fire effects with a rank equal to the villain’s PL. The sprayed smoke or foam may reveal concealed or invisible intruders in the area as well.
Garage: The headquarter readies an escape vehicle the villain can move to (requiring a move action) and activate (requiring a standard action) on their turn.
Grounds: The headquarters creates barriers or the villain applies their superior knowledge of the sprawling grounds, ultimately separating the heroes into two different groups. Roll randomly to determine which heroes and villain end up in which of two separate locations. These separate groups do not have direct line of sight but a hero or villain can move from one group to the other as a move action.
Gym: The headquarters presents barriers or obstacles between the heroes and villain, which require a successful Acrobatics or Athletics check (DC = 10 + villain’s PL) to traverse and engage in melee combat. The obstacles provide the villain with partial cover against ranged attacks from heroes.
Hangar: The villain moves airborne as a free action, or from the air to solid ground, potentially allowing them to take advantage of traits like the Favorite Environment advantage.
Holding Cells: A single hero who is Grabbed, Incapacitated, Paralyzed, or Unaware is locked inside a holding cell and must escape (or be broken out) before they can return to the fight.
Infirmary: Automated systems patch up the villain, or they take advantage of easy access to medicine to heal their wounds. In either case, the acts as a Heal effect with a rank equal to the villain’s PL.
Isolated: The villain cuts off some element of the heroes’ access to the outside world, such as grounding their jet, jamming a teleportation system, or jamming their communications. This effect lasts until the end of the scene or until countered by an appropriate skill or effect check.
Laboratory: The villain can access their vast supply of materials to activate a Complication for a single hero related to exotic energies, materials, or drugs.
Library: The vast stores of knowledge allow the villain to study and prepare advanced tactics. Activating this feature either allows the villain to make an immediate Ready action or the headquarters makes a Feint maneuver against a single hero, with a Deception bonus equal to the villain’s PL.
Living Space:
Personnel: The headquarters summons minions. The combined PL of all the minions who arrive is equal to the villain’s PL; for example, a PL 10 villain can use this feature to summon two PL 5 soldier minions, or a PL 4 Crime Lord and three PL 2 Criminals (see the Deluxe Hero’s Handbook, pages 268-269).
Power System: The headquarters attempts to regulate any dangerous or unusual displays of power, countering any electricity or radiation effects with a rank equal to the villain’s PL.
Sealed: The headquarters reignites its wards or other protective features. All heroes within must succeed on a Strength or Movement effect check (DC = 10 + PL) or be Fatigued until the end of their next turn.
Secret: The headquarters becomes terribly mysterious, confusing and misleading heroes within. A single hero must succeed at a Perception or Will check (DC = 10 + PL) or be Compelled on their next turn t attack their nearest ally.
Security System: The headquarters’ sensors attempt to locate an unseen or concealed hero with a Perception bonus equal to the villain’s PL. If it succeeds, it alerts the villain to its target’s exact location.
Self-Repairing: The headquarters reroutes power to repair any one damaged feature.
Temporal Limbo: The villain can exploit their understanding of the headquarters’ temporal folds to immediately make a single attack.
Workshop: Automated repair systems attack a gadget, device, or other gear carried by a hero, acting as a Weaken effect with a rank equal to the villain’s PL.